On this outing compiled from sessions in 1957 and 1958, one of the many stellar releases for the Prestige Label, John Coltrane is fine form. Backed by a bigger cast of players this time, which created a somewhat different sound, Coltrane showed off his still blossoming mastery of his art. Jazz greats like Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Freddie Hubbard play along side Coltrane on this set. This album also offers a unique tuba/tenor sax interplay on two cuts, that showed how Coltrane loved to experiment with different sounds and styles. The Beleiver offers two bonus tracks as well. An excellent album and a truly overlooked Coltrane classic. A must have for all Coltrane fans.

All of Coltrane's Prestige catalog, while not so much influenced by the Eastern sounds that would later envelop his music, is wonderful. You get to hear Trane in a more traditional setting somewhere between his work with Miles (in fact he was still with Miles when this stuff was recorded) and his first steps (ha pun not intended) away from more traditional tunes on the Atlantic label. Now, there are 11 CDs that make up this catalog (Trane as a leader on Prestige). You do the math. If you buy 'em separately you are going to pay around $125.00. You can get the Fearless Leader box set right here on Amazon for half that price PLUS you get a great guide to all the music Trane recorded as a leader for Prestige, a complete "session-ography", nice picks of all the CD covers including some of those that went through some changes over the year, 45 rpm single covers and so on. It's a very nice package. Buy this if you must but I recommend you save your pennies for a few weeks until you can afford to buy Fearless Leader.Fearless Leader